A little over six months ago, I began volunteering at Johnson’s Backyard Garden, an organic CSA-based farm in Austin. I found out about this opportunity shortly after moving here three years ago. If you know me, I don’t really seem like a farm-y person, which is partly why it took me so long to try it out. But you know what? I keep going back because it’s kind of addictive.

Why? Because being outside, working with veggies, and maybe getting a little dirty is fun. Really! And it also might have something to do with the bounty of beautiful vegetables that you receive at the end.

I think my biggest concern about doing this was wondering what the heck I would do with all of that produce. This is also what kept me from joining a CSA because I only cook for myself. You quickly learn to use up the things that go bad first, and if you have a fear of pickling like I did, well, you get over it. (Pickled peppers are the BEST.)

Up until a couple weekends ago, I hadn’t ever even seen pre-picked blueberries. However, it just so happens that my temporary summer location is 3.5 miles away from a pick-your-own farm, and the blueberries are currently in season! So yes, I took a billion pictures to document the occasion.

When you arrive, there’s a little hut at which you pick up a plastic bucket for filling to your heart’s desire.

Alright so blueberry bushes? They’re way bigger than I thought they would be and there were so many of them! The berries themselves were also the biggest I’d seen, which had pretty much only been the kind in pints at grocery stores. (I haven’t seen them at farmers markets in Texas before maybe because it’s too hot?) Continue reading →

As a follow-up to my previous post about things consumed whilst in the Sunshine State, I will now wax on about another place, this time having nothing to do with Harry Potter

On Wednesday of our trip, we drove up to St. Augustine, the oldest European-established city in America. Two out of the four of us have celiac disease (myself not included), which made me realize just how tricky it is to find gluten-free meals while eating out. After trying and failing to find a place for lunch and eating chips and popcorn in the meantime, I used my trusty iPhone to search for restaurants with gluten-free options for dinner.

Lo and behold, the first hit was for The Present Moment Cafe and it was almost entirely gluten-free! We headed there around 5pm, but as we neared our destination, I noticed that it was also vegan…and RAW. Rut-roh! How could we all like it? Even I was nervous about the raw part as I’m not a big fan of raw veggies (vegetarian fail, I know). Continue reading →